Genesis 3:1-15
The Fall (ESV)
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Have you ever read Genesis 3 and thought to yourself, “If I were there, I would have done it differently”? Many of us like to believe that we would have made a better choice than Adam and Eve. We imagine that we’d have the strength to say no to the serpent—or that we wouldn’t have entertained a conversation with him in the first place. But the truth is, we wouldn’t have done any better. Scripture makes it clear that we all share in the responsibility for the decision Adam and Eve made when they rebelled against God.
Scripture tells us that the serpent was “crafty.” The Hebrew word used here, ʿārûm, appears only eleven times in the Old Testament. It often carries a negative connotation, associated with trickery or deceit. The serpent’s craftiness, then, is not wisdom used for good but cunning used for manipulation—distorting God’s Word to lead humanity astray.
Here’s the reality: the serpent was just as crafty in the beginning as he is today. Praise be to God for His Son, Jesus Christ, who, by His death and resurrection, has defeated Satan and his trickery. Yet Satan is still called the “prince of the air.” As Christians, we need to study God’s Word — not only to draw closer to Him, but also to understand the schemes of the enemy.
This Sunday, we will be looking at the Fall: who our adversary is, what sin did to our relationship with God, and God’s ultimate plan to restore that relationship.
Many Blessings,
Pastor Blake
The Fall (ESV)
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Have you ever read Genesis 3 and thought to yourself, “If I were there, I would have done it differently”? Many of us like to believe that we would have made a better choice than Adam and Eve. We imagine that we’d have the strength to say no to the serpent—or that we wouldn’t have entertained a conversation with him in the first place. But the truth is, we wouldn’t have done any better. Scripture makes it clear that we all share in the responsibility for the decision Adam and Eve made when they rebelled against God.
Scripture tells us that the serpent was “crafty.” The Hebrew word used here, ʿārûm, appears only eleven times in the Old Testament. It often carries a negative connotation, associated with trickery or deceit. The serpent’s craftiness, then, is not wisdom used for good but cunning used for manipulation—distorting God’s Word to lead humanity astray.
Here’s the reality: the serpent was just as crafty in the beginning as he is today. Praise be to God for His Son, Jesus Christ, who, by His death and resurrection, has defeated Satan and his trickery. Yet Satan is still called the “prince of the air.” As Christians, we need to study God’s Word — not only to draw closer to Him, but also to understand the schemes of the enemy.
This Sunday, we will be looking at the Fall: who our adversary is, what sin did to our relationship with God, and God’s ultimate plan to restore that relationship.
Many Blessings,
Pastor Blake
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